Surprised pupils arrived at school to find something a little different.

Burton Bradstock Primary School pupils were ‘amazed and excited’ to find an upturned boat-come-caravan in their playground when they returned to school.

The Story Boat, named ‘Vera’, was a haven for the children to carry out a series of workshops over three days.

Led by owner Gail McGarva and assistant Diana, the workshops taught children the history of Vera and her former owner and crew, as well as how Gail turned the boat into a museum and classroom.

The children heard tales of the sea and created wooden memory planks using traditional methods used in boat-making.

Headteacher Claire Staple, said: “Having the Story Boat in school this week has been a brilliant way to start the new academic year. The children have been truly inspired by tales of the sea told by Gail and Diana and they have produced some beautiful work capturing their thoughts and reflections.”

The school has been keen to develop creativity within the classroom and provide different ways of inspiring the children’s imaginative writing.

At the end of the three days, the Story Boat was pulled and pushed by villagers through the village to the rectory gardens, where it was based in connection with the weekend’s Veast of Folk.

There, it became the focus for an evening’s entertainment linked to the successful annual festival in aid of the RNLI.

Returning to the school after the procession, staff commented that several of the children had tears of sadness in their eyes as they had so enjoyed the whole experience and had become quite attached to this novel way of capturing the heritage of this part of the coast.

The Story Boat Project has involved the creation of a miniature maritime memories’ museum from an upturned boat in which people’s working memories of our coastline are being recorded and preserved.

Supported by local charity, Artsreach, it is appearing at various venues in Dorset.